And Hansel said to Gretel, let us drop these breadcrumbs so that together we find our way home because losing our way would be the most cruel of things. This year, I lost my way. /And losing your way on a journey is unfortunate, but losing your reason for the journey is a fate more cruel. /The journey lasted eight months. Sometimes I traveled alone; sometimes there were others who took the wheel, and took my heart. But when the destination was reached, it wasn’t me who arrived. It wasn’t me at all. /And once you lose yourself, you have two choices: find the person you used to be or lose that person completely. /Because sometimes you have to step outside the person you’ve been and remember the person you were meant to be. The person you wanted to be. The person you are. /George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.” Clearly, Shaw had his heart broken once or twice. /As far as I’m concerned, Shaw was a punk. ‘Cause you know what? Tragedies happen. What are you gonna do? Give up? Quit? No. I realize now that when your heart breaks, you’ve gotta fight like hell to make sure you’re still alive. ‘Cause you are, and that pain you feel, that’s life. The confusion and fear, that’s there to remind you that somewhere out there is something better. And that ‘something’ is worth fighting for. /This year I got everything I wanted and everything I wished for. But, in a way, I lost even more. /Shaw was right. As we strain to grasp the things we desire, the things we think will make our lives better, – money, popularity, fame – we ignore what truly matters. The simple things. Like friendship, family, love. The things we probably already had. -One Tree Hill
